Quotes of the day: Bergevin

MONTREAL - To mark the opening of the NHL's free agency market, general manager Marc Bergevin held a press conference via Zoom to discuss the team's recent moves and the current salary cap situation in the League.
Read on for highlights of what he had to say:

On signing forward Josj Anderson to a seven-year contract extension with an average annual value (AAV) of $5.5 million:
"In an ideal world, longer term deals are certainly better for teams. We tried to find a middle ground between what was good for him and for us with the term and the salary cap. And even still, at 26 years old, that's still relatively young for a seven-year contract, so that's what we decided. There aren't a lot of players like Josh in the NHL, maybe fewer than five who play that kind of style.

"Firstly, if we had decided on one year, you would have to negotiate with him as an unrestricted free agent. We like the player, we like what he brings, we gave up a lot for the player so we wanted to guarantee his services. I'm sure there were a lot of teams that were interested in him, so to take a chance and let him hit the free-agent market... surely, if a player of his caliber has a good season, we would've given him the contract we gave him today."
On the risk-reward assessment of signing a player to a long-term deal:
"For sure, when you sign a player long-term, there are always some risks. It's a risk we're prepared to take. There aren't a lot of players like Josh in the NHL, I would say there are fewer than five. It's a need we have in the organization. Again, at 26, he's still very young, he's coming up on his best years, so it's a risk we took."
On how the team plans to slot Anderson into the lineup:
"That's more a question for Claude. We certainly didn't bring him here to play on the fourth line; he's a player with a lot of potential - he's already shown it. He's a player who can kill penalties, who can play on the power play. He's a big guy who, even if he doesn't score goals, I think just with his presence he's going to contribute to the team's success. It's a bit early to say where exactly he'll be playing, but he should have an important role on the team."

On the Habs' current salary cap situation and how he's planning on using the remaining space:
"At the moment, if you look closely at our salary cap I would say it's around $4.9 million [in space], but with a cushion for injuries, or if you need to make small changes during the season, you keep a cushion of between $1.5-$2 million. Often, that's the standard around the League. We're certainly looking closely at what'll happen. Less money was spent today by teams than usual, so I think the salary cap for the next two or three years will have consequences on today."
His feelings on the current state of the roster:
"I feel really good about our team. If we can make it better, we will."
On the discussion surrounding the fact that the Canadiens didn't select any Quebec-born players at the 2020 NHL Draft:
"There will always be criticism. In Montreal, we have eight Québécois layers in total, including in the AHL. The next-closest team is Tampa Bay with six. So in the NHL, we're the team with the most Québécois players."
On the fact that the NHL's salary cap is remaining flat for 2020-21:
"It's a win-win for both. It could be a loss-loss for both, because players want more money in the system so they can get paid more - which I understand. Teams want more money because they could spend more. Now it's flat, which is good for us because we know what we can spend. Usually, you know a couple of days before what the cap is going to be."